January, 2023 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Carmelita’s Man Tops Field Of Nine For Unusual Heat Turf Classic

With seven-time stakes winner The Chosen Vron expected to run earlier on Saturday's Cal Cup program, trainer Dean Pederson's hard knocking Carmelita's Man heads a deep and competitive group of nine entrants going a mile and one eighth on grass in Santa Anita's $200,000 Unusual Heat Turf Classic.

Presented by City National Bank, the Unusual Heat Turf Classic is part of the lucrative CTBA-sponsored Golden State Series for California-bred or sired older horses.

A 6-year-old gelding by Mucho Macho Man out of the North Light mare Carmelita, Carmelita's Man had his finest year to date in 2022, winning Santa Anita's one mile turf Crystal Water Stakes on May 28, taking Del Mar's California Dreaming Stakes at 1 1/16 miles Aug. 6 and then taking an open company allowance at Del Mar going 1 3/8 miles on turf Sept. 2. Most recently fourth going one mile on turf versus open runners in the restricted Lure Stakes here on Oct. 29, Carmelita's Man banked $264,570 from eight starts last year.

Owned by Larry and Ann Jett, Carmelita's Man will be reunited with Juan Hernandez, who was aboard for both of his statebred stakes wins last year. With an overall mark of 21-7-5-1, he has earnings of $432,670.

Claimed by trainer Steve Knapp out of a $25,000 win going one mile on the main track here three starts back on Nov. 5, Doc Adams attended the pace en route to a solid 1 ¼ length statebred allowance win at one mile on turf first off the claim Nov. 19 and was most recently a 2 ½ length open allowance winner going a mile on dirt at Los Alamitos Dec. 17.

A 5-year-old gelding by Vronsky out of the Unusual Heat mare My Maloof Rocker, Doc Adams, who is owned by Les Blake, is a sharp horse who will be ridden for the third consecutive time by Ramon Vazquez.

In what may've been the best race of his career, the Steve Specht-trained Royal 'n Rando rallied from off the pace to take an open first condition allowance going 1 1/16 miles on synthetic Tapeta at Golden Gate Fields Dec. 11 and appears primed for another top effort over a turf course that he's run well over.

A troubled second here six starts back going a mile and one eighth on turf in the Snow Chief Stakes on May 28, Royal 'n Rando, a 4-year-old Tamarando gelding out of the Grand Slam mare Royal Grand Slam, is owned and bred by Mr. and Mrs. Larry D. Williams. He has a win and a second place finish from four tries on turf and is 17-6-3-2 overall. He'll be ridden for the first time by Umberto Rispoli.

THE UNUSUAL HEAT TURF CLASSIC WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER

Race 10 of 10 Approximate post time 4:30 p.m. PT

Aligato—Flavien Prat—124
Doc Adams—Ramon Vazquez—122
The Chosen Vron—Hector Berrios—124
Coalinga Road—John Velazquez—120
Kings River Knight—Lanfranco Dettori—122
Bang for Your Buck—Abel Cedillo—120
Royal 'n Rando—Umberto Rispoli—124
Carmelita's Man—Juan Hernandez—124
Luvluv—Joe Bravo—122

First post time for a 10-race card on Saturday is at 12 noon with admission gates opening at 10 a.m.

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Golden Gate-Based Passarando Ships South For Cal Cup Derby

A springboard to superstardom in 2014 for California Chrome, Saturday's $200,000 California Cup Derby at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., may also have a star or two in the making as seven California-bred or sired sophomores go a mile and one sixteenth.

Mr. and Mrs. Larry D. Williams' Passarando, trained by Steve Specht and fresh off a stirring come from behind win versus open company going a mile on synthetic Tapeta Dec. 3 in the Gold Rush Stakes at Golden Gate Fields, rates top billing on Saturday.

A winner versus statebreds of the seven furlong Golden State Juvenile here three starts back, he'll be reunited with Umberto Rispoli, who was aboard for the Santa Anita win on Oct. 29.

A gelding by Tamarando out of the Lucky Pulpit mare I'm Passing Ya Now, Passarando is in top form and is scheduled to van down from Golden Gate early Friday morning. With two stakes wins to his credit, Passarando is 7-4-2-0 with earnings of $218,830.

Attentive to the pace throughout, Kirk and Judy Robison's homebred Giver Not a Taker was a game head winner of the statebred King Glorious Stakes going one mile at Los Alamitos Dec. 18 and rates a big look with Flavien Prat riding him back.

Based at San Luis Rey Downs with Peter Miller, Giver Not a Taker is a chestnut gelding by Danzing Candy out of the Kitten's Joy mare Kittens Trip. Heavily favored at 1-5 two starts back in the seven furlong Golden State Juvenile, he was defeated by one length by a late charging Passarando. A winner of the six furlong I'm Smokin Stakes in his second start Sept. 9, he's a two-time statebred stakes winner with an overall mark of 5-3-1-0.

Miller will also saddle Thirsty John, an impressive first-out maiden winner going 4 ½ furlongs on May 14. Idle since and based at San Luis Rey Downs, Thirsty John, who had been trained by Walther Solis, was bred in California by Terry Lovingier.

A colt by Stay Thirsty out of the Discreet Cat mare Discreet Dee, Thirsty John is owned by Lovingier, Tom London and Eugene Zondlo and will be ridden back by leading man Juan Hernandez.

A winner of three out of his five starts, trainer Hector Palma's Geezer showed the way to the quarter pole in the one mile King Glorious Dec. 18 but tired to check in third, five lengths behind Giver Not a Taker. Bred by Palma and Melody Conlon, Geezer is a gelding by Merit Man out of the More Than Ready mare Pat Olcott and is owned by Royalty Stable. He'll be ridden for the sixth consecutive time by Tiago Pereira.

Craig Lewis will saddle upstart Crypto Ride, a Cal-bred maiden 50,000 winner two starts back who came up a head short at 50-1 behind Giver Not a Taker in the King Glorious. Owned and bred by James Shenouda, Crypto Ride is a gelding by Clubhouse Ride out of Wild Caroline, by Wildcat Heir.

With Umberto Rispoli opting to ride Passarando, Crypto Ride will be handled by Hector Berrios.

One of five Cal Cup Day stakes, the Cal Cup Derby is part of the lucrative CTBA-sponsored Golden State Series for eligible California-bred or sired runners.

THE CALIFORINIA CUP DERBY WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER

Race 7 of 10 Approximate post time 3 p.m. PT

Thirsty John—Juan Hernandez—124
Passarando—Umberto Rispoli—124
Amigo G A—Armando Aguilar–124
Giver Not a Taker—Flavien Prat—124
Merit Song—Luis Contreras—124
Cyrpto Ride—Hector Berrios—124
Geezer—Tiago Pereira–124

First post time for a 10-race card on Saturday is at 12 noon with admission gates opening at 10 a.m.

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Shantisara, Wakanaka, Dalika Among Invitees To Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf

Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables LLC and Robert LaPenta's Shantisara, Team Valor International and Gary Barber's Wakanaka, and Bal Mar Equine LLC's Dalika are prominent on the invitation list released Wednesday for the $500,000 Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare Turf Invitational (G3).

The Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare Turf, a 1 1/16-mile turf race for older fillies and mares, will be featured on the Jan. 28 program at Gulfstream Park, co-headlined by the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1), a 1 1/8-mile stakes for 4-year-olds and up, and the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1), a 1 1/18-mile stakes for 4-year-olds and up on turf.

Twelve fillies and mares are on the first invitation list for the Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare Turf, while there are five on the list of reserve invitees.

Shantisara, who earned Grade 1 credentials while winning the 2021 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Keeneland, is trained by Chad Brown, who saddled Regal Glory for a victory in the 2022 Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare Turf. The 5-year-old Irish import finished second behind Regal Glory in the Jenny Wiley (G1) at Keeneland in her 2022 debut before being sidelined for seven months. She returned to finish and even fifth in the Nov. 5 Fall Harvest at Keeneland.

Wakanaka, who is trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, captured the Fall Harvest to conclude a productive 2022 season that included a victory in the Dance Smartly (G2) at Woodbine and a runner-up finish behind Regal Glory in the Just a Game (G1) at Belmont.

Al Stall Jr.-trained Dalika, a hard-hitting 7-year-old daughter of Pastorius, earned Grade 1 credentials with a victory in the Beverly D. (G1) at Churchill Downs in August and also won the Ladies Turf (G3) at Kentucky Downs and the Cardinal (G3) at Churchill.

Bobby Flay's Pizza Bianca, the 2021 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) winner, is also prominent on the invitation list. The 4-year-old daughter of Fastnet Rock has returned to trainer Christophe Clement after finishing third in the Matriarch (G1) at Del Mar and fifth in the American Oaks (G1) at Santa Anita.

Trainer Michael McCarthy, who saddled City of Light for a victory in the 2019 Pegasus World Cup (G1), is represented on the invitation list for the Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare Turf by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Gary Barber's Queen Goddess. The 5-year-old daughter of Empire Maker, who captured the 2021 American Oaks (G1), won the Santa Ana (G3) and the Robert J. Frankel (G3) in 2022.

Charles Fipke's Lady Speightspeare, who finished third behind Regal Glory and Shantisara in the Jenny Wiley went on to win three graded stakes in a row at Woodbine in the Nassau (G2), Trillium (G3) and Seaway (G3) before finishing third in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1) at Keeneland. Hall of Famer Roger Attfield trains the 5-year-old daughter of Speightstown.

Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey is represented by Andrew Rosen's Skims and Annette Allen's Stolen Holiday on the Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare invitation list. Skims, a 4-year-old daughter of Frankel, won the Sands Point (G2) at Belmont before finishing a troubled fifth in the American Oaks at Santa Anita. Stolen Holiday, a 6-year-old daughter of War Front, has won two graded stakes in her last three starts, including Saturday's Suwannee River (G3) at Gulfstream.

Augustin Stable and Catherine Parke's Sparkle Blue, who was beaten by less than a length in the American Oaks after winning the Valley View (G3) at Keeneland, represents trainer Graham Motion on the invitational list.

Lazy F Ranch's Gam's Mission, who was saddled for a victory in the Mint Julep (G3) at Churchill Downs by Cherie DeVaux; and Kenneth Ramsey and the Estate of Sarah Ramsey's Artie's Princess, the winner of the Presque Isle Masters (G2) trained by Saffie Joseph Jr.; are also invited to compete in the second running of the Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare Turf.

The list of reserve invitees (in alphabetical order) includes Stephen Screnci, Deters Company Frank Taylor's Kate's Kingdom, Steven Parkin's Lady Rockstar, Georg D. Morgan's Perserverancia, CHP Racing's Saffron Moon and La Providencia LLC and LNJ Foxwoods' Scotish Star.

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Study Finds No Significant Connection Between Castration, Foal Growth

Many animal owners have heard that their male dog, cat, or colt shouldn't be castrated until it's “older,” so as to encourage proper growth. A study from the National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment in France sought to determine the impact of early castration on a foal's physical and behavioral development.

Colts are typically gelded between six and 18 months old, often to make them easier to handle and manage.

Dr. Juliette Cognie and colleagues used 22 male Welsh ponies from an experimental herd; 11 ponies were gelded at three days of age, while the other 11 were gelded as yearlings up to 18 months old.

All horses were gelded under general anesthesia and a primary closure technique was used.

The research team reported that the foals were readily accepted by their dams and none displayed any behavioral issues, like refusal to nurse, after the surgery.

The scientists followed the progress of each pony until it was three years old, recording weight and body size monthly for eight months and then at routine intervals. The ponies were assessed for behavior at one and three years old.

The team concluded that no significant differences in physical or behavioral development could be found between the ponies that were gelded as neonates or those gelded as yearlings.